Shanice van de Sanden will travel to Switzerland next week as a reserve with the Dutch Lionesses. The 32-year-old forward thus remains in contention for participation in the European Championship.
Van de Sanden was dropped from the definitive European Championship selection a week ago. She did train with the Dutch team last week. Fellow European Championship absentees goalkeeper Regina van Eijk and midfielder Jill Baijings also continued training, but they will not travel to Switzerland.
National coach Andries Jonker may still make a change to his selection before the first European Championship match. This is only allowed if there is a medical reason. Lineth Beerensteyn is racing against the clock to make the European Championship. Should she not be fit enough, Van de Sanden could still make the selection.
Van de Sanden can therefore continue to hope for her first tournament with the Dutch national team since the 2020 Olympic Games. At the last World Cup (2023) and European Championship (2022), the winger was dropped at the last moment.
The 97-time international returned to the Dutch national team’s selection last month after fifteen months. Her last international match dates back to February 2024. On Friday, she scored a goal in the Dutch national team’s won training match against Finland (3-0).
The Dutch national team will play their first European Championship match in exactly one week. Jonker’s team will play against Wales from 6:00 PM on Saturday. In the group stage, the Dutch team will also face England (July 9) and France (July 13).